Daisies.
Simple, cheerful, and liked by nearly all.
Daisies were like Kennon. At least, that's what Mariella had thought when she purchased a small bunch of them from the town florist.
She ran her fingers over the delicate little petals as she stared down at the gravestone before her.
Kenneth Willoughby Kennon.
Honored Member of the Southshore Guard.
Twenty and four years of age. A ray of sunshine in the lives of all who knew him, right up until the very end.
May the Light carry his brave and honorable soul to rest in everlasting peace.
Mariella's palms were sweating as she knelt before the stone. Her eyes, however, were dry. She had spent the remainder of her bed-ridden nights crying them tearless in private. She was certain there wasn't a teardrop left in her by now.
"I'm sorry I was so hard on you," she whispered. 'Deep down, I think I was only bitter and envious of your ability to be so free of inhibitions."
A breeze picked up, slipping beneath the thin fabric of her tunic. Her hair was down for a change, drifting softly around her face and tickling her nose.
"I wish... things had gone differently, but... I suppose you're somewhere nicer, now. Though, I would've liked to have taken you to the city some day. I would've shown you all around Stormwind..." she said, an unexpected giggle escaping her lips as she imagined his awe of 'the big city'.
She felt the moisture beginning to well in her eyes and she knew her assumption from moments ago had been mistaken.
Knowing that, if she continued to speak, her emotions would only take over, Mariella instead sat in silence for a long time. She listened to the birds and the rush of water from the river below. The sun warmed her back while the wafting mountain breeze cooled her face.
"He was a good friend of yours?"
Mariella recognized the voice of Laerick. He had a tinge of an accent she couldn't quite place.
She let out a dry chuckle.
"Something like that."
His legs moved into view at the corner of her vision as he came to stand beside her. "You sneak up on me often, corporal," she added, still gazing at Kennon's tombstone.
"You have my apologies, miss," he replied. "I only wondered what maiden was out here alone."
Mariella nodded and shifted her gaze to the daisies clutched between her hands. The breeze caught a few petals and sent them dancing away across the grass.
"I feel terrible," she said, finally. "I cannot stop thinking about... that day. What I could have done..."
Laerick was quiet for a moment.
"Your sergeant informed me that it was your first time engaging in field combat. It is a powerful experience. Your first battle can either empower you or destroy you as a soldier," Laerick replied quietly. "It is, indeed, a tragic occurence to have lost a partner amidst your first enemy encounter. But you fought bravely, both of you did. And the loss of your partner was through no fault of your own, my lady."
Empower you or destroy you.
Mariella was always broken as a child. At some point, she had grown tired of giving into defeat and misery. She had wanted to be steady as stone.
Fragility was in her past now.
"Come, I'll buy you a drink at the pub."
Mariella shook her head, remembering Sergeant Dean's speech about drowning sorrows.
"I had better not."
"Would you prefer that I leave you be then, my lady?"
The guardswoman didn't answer at first.
Leaning forward, she placed the bunch of daisies at the base of Kennon's tombstone. The little white flowers stood out brightly against the dark rough stone.
At last, she turned to look up at her new Corporal.
He looked impressive, standing so tall above her. Almost angelic, with his golden hair blowing in the breeze and eyes like the sky. She considered his question.
"No," she said at last.
He smiled and offered her a hand.